Starcraft,The Legacy Continues
by Unsettling Darkness
Summary: A 23 year old ordinary man loses everything that was dear to him. With nothing else to lose, he sells his life to war and his quest for revenge begins. My first Fan Fic, Review will ya?. Chapter 3 is up!
1. Prologue

Prologue:  
  
I sat down in the chair, staring across at the dark shadowy figure across the table from me. My head turned from left and then to right, only to see two marines in marine armor holding a gauss rifle up to there chest. One of them took a stimpack to his neck and it sizzled and he gave out a sigh of relief. They both had evil looks in their eyes, well no wonder, they are resocilized criminals. These guys would kill their own mother if ordered to. I turned my head back straight at the figure, I knew he, she, or it was watching me. Even though I couldn't precisely see it, I knew he or she was. I was in a white T-Shirt and grey pants, prisoner pants, and black shoes. I was just a mere prisoner to these men. The only reason why I am in this fancy room is because I am now sitting in front of a very high ranking officer. They took my marine battle outfit and my best souped up gauss rifle. I wish I had it, no telling when the Zerg would attack this outpost. In this kind of hell hole, the armor and the rifle will become your best friends.  
  
My name? My name is Justin "Stryke" Schilling. A former Sergeant of the Terran Dominion. I got the nickname "Stryke" from my men and comrades, because my skills in fighting and combat. Apparently, I wasn't mysterious to these people. A stern and calm male voice then broke my thoughts.  
  
"So, Sergeant Stryke, Let me here your story of why you are here". "Well, Sir, I have made many mistakes in my life, but joining the Dominion was far the worst....but me and my friend and brother had no choice, we were desperate...." And this is where the story begins......  
  
Star Craft ~The Legacy Continues~ 


	2. Mar Sara

Chapter 1         The Planet Mar Sara

"Everyone has a beginning. All stories do. The place, the people, and the friends. Well, my story begins at a planet called Mar Sara. Yes, the Mar Sara that was decimated by the Protoss last year in May. Their ships floated over the helpless planet, the bright lights going off like NYC on Old Earth. But let's stop talking about the almighty Protoss and cut to the chase. I had a friend named Matthew Stubbs; he was the only friend I ever had. We worked at the same place.He always had a knack for airplanes and he always dreamed of being a pilot. In fact, he started to enforce in the Confederacy Air Force. I decided to lay low; I didn't know what I wanted to do yet. My brother, he's a weird kind of guy. He always planned everything out, and he was able to invent such crazy stuff. And the funny thing was, every time I would say something, he sometimes would answer before I finished my sentence. Although he is my brother, I thought he was a total wacko, but who ever knew that his talents saved our asses. but as usual, all happy things come to an end….."-Stryke

            I looked up at the bright sky, the sun shined in my face. I ran through the field and then towards a nearby broken edge, only to jump off the cliff, doing a dive and starting to fall down into the icy blue water below. But as I was falling, everything grew dark, and then I stopped falling and floated there. My eyes darted around wildly. 

"What the hell is going on here?" I thought. 

I looked at my hands, as they grew eyes, red, evil looking ones, Fangs grew on them and I screamed and jumped back, floating in the air, only to see some sort of creature then in front of me. It stood on all fours, its claws were long, and it looked like it could shred a cow in less then two seconds. It had a very long body, and its hind legs look like it could make him stand up straight, being about 8 feet tall Drool dripped from its fangs, it cawed ferioucisly. It opened its mouth as if to speak.

"Wake up Justin" it said. "Wake up Justin. Wake up Justin."

My eyes shot open, I was staring at a wall that was ahead of me. I let out a long breath from my nose as I then pushed myself up and looked at the stupid annoying alarm clock. I punched in the snooze button. It was 6:03 in the morning, and its Saturday. There is no damn work on Saturdays. I must have put the alarm on by accident last night. I threw my feet over the side of the bed and then looked down at the floor, my hands on each knee.

I was an average looking guy, dark brown hair going down to the middle of my neck, brown eyebrows, hazel eyes. I am about 5'10 in height and I weight about 170 pounds. I was 23 at the time, I was a little mother, I know. I then stood up on my feet and looked around my room. I wonder where my wacko brother was. My floor was a total mess. Comic books and clothes lied on the floor. I liked comic books still; they remind me of Old Earth. Or at least, that's what my father told me. I picked up a white T-shirt and brought it up to my nose and smelled it. It smelled fine to me, so I threw it on and picked up a pair of jeans and put them on. I then grabbed the socks and sat down on the edge of my bed, which the sheets were thrown everywhere. I slipped on the socks and then grabbed my sneakers and put them on, tying the laces in about two seconds. I walked to the door and wrapped my hand around the knob, then twisting it and pushing on it and the door swung open. I let go of the knob and went on, my journey down the stairs.

 I walked down the stairs slowly, to meet my brother down in the living room. He had the remote in his left hand; he sat down in an armchair single seater couch. He stared at the TV screen blankly, the news was on. Some unknown creatures were running around, tearing up bodies of cows and about two casualties of humans were traced. I looked at the side of the chair and he had one of his inventions to him, a C-10 Canister Rifle that was sawed off and souped up to his taste, such as the lock down ability and the laser. He was also wearing a device on his chest, which allowed him to cloak.        

Marc would be a great engineer. He was able to build such crazy things. Basically, we licensed that C-10 Rifle and then he souped it up with some different kind of bullets and sawed off the barrel and added the lockdown and the laser. He is pretty smart, for a now 21 year old. The only thing that scares me is sometimes he answers my questions before I even finish.

"Anything good on?" I asked as I sat down on the couch on the farthest end of the wall, my neck turned and my face facing the TV.

"Nope" He replied glumly. "Just reports about unknown creatures killing humans and animals and ripping them to little shreds."

"Why did you bring out the rifle? Scared, aren't ya?" I shot back with a slight playful smile on my face.

"Well, hey bro, you need to take some kind of precaution, right?"

"Yeah, whatever you say, you keep watching your boring news; I will go see how Matt's Air Force studies are going." And with that I dragged myself out the door.

 The wind blew my hair a bit as I looked around. Some kids laughed and ran by, holding airplanes and making the sound as the airplane would. In the distance, the Confederate flag blew in the wind on top of a small settlement. That was the confederacy base; I wouldn't pass in there for a second. Only Confederate troops were allowed to pass into the base. The Confederacy Air Force Academy was on the other side of town, it was a long walk

I walked by a group of people that seemed to be having a riot. I looked over and decided to investigate. Besides, Matt is probably working on some grand project, such as flying a Confed Wraith.

I made my way over to the crowd, they were jabbering, so I couldn't make out what anyone was saying. All I saw in the middle was a huge gigantic ape looking old guy. He had a spiky kind of head, and he was an officer of the confederacy. He was probably General Duke, the man they sent down here to investigate. He had a battle cruiser up high in the orbit of Mar Sara, and he must of come down due to reports. A reporter then shoved a microphone up to him and asked him a question.

"General Duke, what do you have to say about the attacks on the farmers' herds?" the reporter asked.

"I think that these creatures are just ordinary animals like wolves and bears at 'Old Earth', so they should be nothing to worry about.  Besides, I got my boys down here patrolling; I will not answer anymore questions from now. So all ya'll have a real nice day, ya hear?"

With that, the huge general then walked out of the crowd, pushing his way through the people that blocked his path. The reporters tried to shove more microphones down his throat, but he just threw their arms away, until finally he boarded a white drop ship marked with a Confederacy flag on the side. I watched the ship then float into the air, the fire coming out from the pipes in the back, and then finally and quickly zoom off into the distance. I then turned away from the crowd and began to walk to my destination again.

I walked up to a building, and the same confederate flag was on the wall right above the doorway, and two marines in their battle armor held  a gauss rifle in their hands. They had the rifle held up to their chest, and their heads moved from side to side, keeping watch. One of them had a cigarette in their mouth, and the smoke filtered out as he smoked it. This was an airbase, and they had to protect it well. Must be boring just standing there and looking tough. But I didn't know I'd be like one of them…soon enough.

            One of the guards spotted me and he walked up to me, the other one stayed where he stood.

            "What is your business here, civi?" he asked.

            "I came to talk to my friend, Matthew Stubbs" I replied, looking into the cold, killing eyes of the marine.

            "That's alright, boy, but orders are to check you for any weapons, so sit tight will ya?" and with that he put down his gauss rifle on the ground and then ran his hands over my body, checking my pockets, my shirt, even my ass. 

            When he was finally satisfied, he bent down and picked up his rifles and looked over at his friend.

            "He's clean, he can go in"

            "Alright boy, but civis must get out at 3:30 P.M sharp, we are doing flight testing."

            I finally took my steps away from the two men, and then finally got into the building. The cool air quickly hit my face, which was drenching with sweat. It felt really good. I looked around slowly, and pilot trainees were walking all over. I have to get to Matt's study room, room 118.

I turned around the corridor and then entered the room, and there he was. He sat at a desk, his head resting in the palm of his hand. His elbow was leaning on the table, and his right hand held a pen, as he was quickly jotting down notes.

            Matt was a kind of big person, with blonde hair and blue eyes. His hair was short, due that he was basically in the military, he had to. His muscles showed a bit, they weren't as big as those marines though. It didn't matter though, he was a pilot. He was wearing blue jeans and a white shirt that had a confederate flag right where his heart lied. His black combat boots were on his feet, over his white socks he was wearing. 

Matt was a more calm type of person, and like I said, he dreamed of being a pilot. It's too bad he had to join the confeds. The confeds seem to be one of the biggest asshole groups I have ever met.

I sneaked up behind Matt quietly, and just before I can scare him, he whipped out a 9mm handgun and aimed it at me, it clicked in his hand, and he had a small smile on his face.

"Boo" he said.

"Ok, Ok, you got me; put that damn thing away though."

He then slipped it back down in his jeans pocket, as he then looked at his paper and started jotting down notes from the book that lied ahead from his notebook.

"So why are you carrying that thing anyway?" I asked, looking around the room as I did.

"As a precaution to the creature attacks" he replied, still looking down at his notebook.

"Oh come on, why am I the only one who isn't scared?" I shot back.

"Because you're a dumb and stupid person," Matt began, "That wouldn't have any sort of protection to when a creature we call a "zergling" comes up and rips you to shreds."

"What, you know the name of the creature? Do you even know what it looks like?" I asked curiously.

"Nope, that is just what the confederate scientists call them. I don't know why, they just told us some info on them. They told us it was classified though, so whatever you do, don't tell any civis"

Even Matt was calling civilians "civis".

"Alright, whatever you say, sarge!" and I mocked a salute to him.

Matt lightly punched me in my stomach. Just before I was about to say something though, a huge crash was heard and then a few gun shots.

"What the hell was that?" I said, changing the subject quickly.

Fear rushed through my veins already, and my mind just went cold. What the hell would be attacking Mar Sara? Maybe a group of terrorists? Or… My mind went blank.

"Shit, we are under attack!" Matt yelled, quickly drawing his 9mm, standing up so fast that the stool fell back behind him.

"That's all they gave you, a 9mm?" I shouted quickly.

"I don't see you holding anything." Matt shot back, then holding up the gun to the side of his face and walking towards the door. "Stay behind me, will ya?"

"Yeah, whatever you say, sarge" I said sarcastically. 

I walked behind him, and then he quickly opened the door and popped out, turning to the side, facing the right and his gun aiming at the far wall. An explosion occurred and it knocked me off my feet, making me slip and falling into the desk, my mind raced faster now.

I opened my eyes after a little bit, and then quickly looked around.

"Hey, Matt!" I called out.

No answer. I then began to creep my way to the door. I poked my head out and looked around. No one. I then took a step out and wondered which way my friend went. I decided to go right, since that is the way he faced when I last saw him.

I began to walk down the corridor, and when I turned to go down the way I wanted, I saw a long creature running on all fours down the hall, towards me! I was in shock, and it then stopped and looked up at me, sniffing the air. Drool dripped from its fangs, and its long claws then came out as he then stood up on its hind legs, now being about 8 feet tall. My head just followed him up, and I began to think this was the end of my life. It cawed ferociously. Is this what Matt called a "Zergling". Well it shouldn't deserve the name –ling on the end, due that this thing was huge. What I didn't know was there were so much bigger things then this.

Just before I was about to crawl in the corner and let this thing eat the hell out of me, I looked down and saw a dead marine. His armor had hold punctures and shreds on his chest, blood pouring out from everywhere. The visor was splattered with blood, and through the thick mess, his face showed anguish of defeat. I looked in his hand, and there, held a gauss rifle.

I quickly picked it up and held it in my two hands, one wrapped around the handle and the other on the pipe.

"Go to hell!" I screamed, then firing multiple shots at its body. It cawed and blood spurted from the new holes I gave him. It screamed a high pitch sound, and I just pumped him full of lead. It finally fell on its stomach, and a blood puddle formed under its body. I let out a sigh of relief, and then looked on the side of the gun, a digital number there. It said "145" on it that means I have 145 bullets left. I may be what the confeds call a "civi" but I had my own gun training.

But this wasn't the end of the hell, more came running down the hall, and I quickly raised my rifle again and began to fire rapidly. Hundreds seem to come running around that corner, and even though many of them fell dead in their tracks, they overran my shots, and my gun clicked. The green digital number turned red and said "0".

"Shit!!" I screamed loudly, as I then backed the corner. This is it, I am dead. The zerglings ran closer and closer, giving out their cry of victory.


	3. A Peace's Ending

                                                                                                                                                                                                Chapter 2 **A Peace's Ending**

"A zergling, a vicious little creature that seem small when it maneuvers, but it stands up to attack, and when it does, it will cause any man to cower in the corner and beg to stop. I have met many Marines who have feared getting killed by a zergling. But there is much worst out in the universe then a zergling, such as a Hydralisk, a 15 foot spine spitting Zerg. But what was even worst was an Ultralisk, a 30 foot tall huge Zerg like tank.  That day, I was experiencing…A Peace's Ending."-Stryke

            The zerglings moved in faster and faster, their high pitched screams echoing through the halls. My back was against the wall, as I stared at the dead marine, I will soon be joining his side.  

            "You're giving up already, Justin?" a familiar voice called from above.

            I looked up to see Matt in the air vents, having a goofy smile on his face, even at a time like this.

            "How the hell did you get up there?" I yelled angrily.

            "No time to explain" Matt began, then lowering his arm and holding out his hand for me to grab, "Grab my hand, unless you want to be lunch."

            Why the hell would I want to be eaten alive? I then put the strap over my head so the rifle was hanging on my back, the barrel of the gun pointing at the ground, and the handle sticking diagonally up by my head. I then jumped as high as I can, reaching for his hand. Did I make it?

            "God you suck, you should exercise more." Matt joked, but then his face turned serious when a Zergling was ready to pounce me.

            A zergling attacked from the side, as I then jumped back and its claws lightly scratched my shoulder. Blood lightly dripped out from the new hole of my shirt.  The Zergling cawed, and more came to back it up. Finally, shots were heard from above, shots from a gauss rifle. I looked up to see Matt leaning over the opening of the vent, his left eye closed, and the barrel aimed downwards towards his foes. The zerglings looked up and screamed in pain, as the two on the sides were shot back, blood splattering on the walls. The last one looked from side to side, groaning a call for his buddies, only to then be shot in the head a few times and blood splattered, hitting my chest, and then it fell down dead on it's stomach.

            "Come on, we don't have much time!" Matt said, throwing the gauss rifle at his side and then lowering his hand again.

            I looked over to see a zergling running at me.

            "Oh shit!" I yelled.

            "Get up here, dumbass." Matt commanded again.

            I then looked up and jumped as high as I can, the zergling following, clawing the air. I grabbed onto matt's hand, and then he used his free hand to grab my other hand and he pulled me up into the vent, the Zergling just missing my legs.

            "That was a close one." I panted. The cool air blew threw the vents, my hair kind of swaying with the very light wind.

            "Yeah, you can say that again." Matt replied, taking a deep breath. "This is my first real combat exercise. Well…not really an exercise, but, a real life battle."

            "Yeah, and your still a trainee, sarge" I shot back sarcastically.

            Down below, gunshots blasted through the corridors, and zergling death screams were heard throughout the complex. Marine screams blasted through the vents. Even a lower pitched Zerg call was heard, which neither I nor Matt recognized.

            "So, what now?" I asked Matt.

            "Well, first of all, let's get the hell out of here.  The next thing is, don't die." 

            "Easy said then easy done." I said glumly.

            "How much ammo you got in that rifle?" Matt said.

            "None, I ran out man."

            "Well, here, take this." And he pulled out a clip from his back pocket and threw it to me, and I caught it with one hand.

            I then held the trigger, and from the side, a panel open, and the old clip fell out, the digital number went from "0" to "N/A", and then I placed the new cartridge in, and then pushed it back in, and it clicked and went to its spot, then the number going to "1,500".

            "I see you had your gun training" Matt said with another smile.

            "Yeah, I'm not helpless."

            I then remembered my brother back at the house, watching T.V; I have to go back for him.

            "Hey man, we got to go retrieve my brother, I hope he is alright."

            "He has a C-10 Canister rifle, right?" Matt said, looking down the hole of the vent.

            The zerglings below looked up at him, they knew we were up here, and were waiting for us to fall down or something. Their red eyes reminded me of  the blood shed they caused.

            "Ok, Justin, let's move" Matt said, then turned around and holding the rifle in one hand, and was on his hands and knees like a baby, starting to crawl.

            I followed quickly. Anything would be better then being in here. I wanted to get out as fast as I can.  The vents banged under our weight, giving the Zerg's offensive army a confused look, not knowing where we were, but able to smell our scent. I stayed close behind Matt; I don't want to get lost again.

            A squeak was heard under me, and then a crack was heard. That was all I heard, and then me and Matt's scream in unison as we then fell down to the ground. I landed on my stomach, sprawling out and my rifle sliding out of my hand. Matt landed on his back, his hand tightly gripped on his rifle.

            "Ouch." I moaned, then getting up into a kneel, my arm resting over my knee that was bent upwards. I shook my head; I think I was seeing some stars.

            "Stay where you are, boys." A deep voice said. It definitely sounded better then a Zergling's ferocious caw.

            "Hey, we're humans, not like it's hard to tell." Matt said angrily, his hands rose above his head.

            I looked up to see General Duke standing in front of a squadron of men. All of them had different signs on their armors, like one had "Bad Boy" on the left shoulder pad and another had "You see me, your Dead" on it's arm, but all of them had the confederate flag on it somewhere. Duke stood like an ape, a powerful looking Shotgun in his hands, his visors was pulled over his face, and his whitish black hair ended right before his forehead.

            "What are you boys doing up in those vents?"   The general asked angrily.

            "We were running away from the creatures, Sir" Matt said loudly, in a military fashion.

            "Well, as usual, the headquarters of the Confederacy sent me to do the mop up job of this assault, so you boys sit tight in our squad and help out if ya'll can." And with that he began to march quickly off, always having a pissed off look on his face.

            "Wait!" I shouted, and the general stopped dead in his tracks. "Did you know that an attack was going to happen?"

            "No we didn't, boy. What's your name anyway?"

            "Justin Schilling"

            "Matthew Stubbs."

            "Well, Mr. Schilling, Mr. Stubbs, I assure you we didn't know anything about the assault, and the Zerg are a weak species, they don't have as much technology as we do.

            "Well how do you know the name of the species? Did you actually talk to them?" I asked angrily.

            "Mr. Schilling, do not try my patience, or right here and right now I will have my men blow you to smithereens."

            Just as the General said that, I heard all the guns click behind me. I couldn't take on them with just one rifle. So I surrendered and didn't say a word.

            "Good, now that there is no more fighting, let's move out, shall we?" and with that the ape sized general turned back around and turn around the corridor.

            "Sir, Mr. Schilling has been injured by the creatures." One of the general's men stated.

            I looked on my arm, it was bleeding a little bit, and the scratch mark went clear into my skin.

            "Medic!" General Duke shouted.

            A male in a white medic's battle armor outfit came up to me, and then began to examine the wound. He then took a shot, and he stated that it was only going to hurt a little bit. Medics are very bad liars. After the shot, they then wrapped bandages around my shoulder, and then the medic saluted the General.

            "Healing has been completed, sir" The medic stated.

            "Good, go back and help any other men that might be wounded outside, there     should be a good 30-35 men that are injured, get to work, son." The general saluted his medic back, and then the medic ran off and disappeared around the corner.

            Matt and I stayed in the back of the crowd. They underestimated our abilities. They looked upon us as a "trainee" and a "civi". General Duke barked out commands, as the marines followed. They used the Stim Packs to keep them calm, and not to go crazy and shoot every living thing that was around. 

              After a bit of walking and killing, the walls began to crumble, and all the marines picked up their rifles, all clicking sounds being heard as they did. Me and matt also rose our rifles, looking around, and aiming the rifle where our head turned to look.

            Finally, these creatures broke through the walls, caving us in. They were way different then the zerglings, especially in the size. These things were about 15 feet tall, and their claws were a little less developed. But they had a better weapon then those of the zerglings. It moved like a snake. In fact, it reminded me of a huge snake, rather then a Zerg creature. It had two jaws, an inner jaw, which was used for it to eat its victims. Its head reminded me of a cobra, and when the creatures attacked, the sides split open to show green spines sticking out. The creatures propelled those spikes so fast, you could barely see them. Its claws were a little bit shorter then the zerglings, but these were much harder to kill and way harder to avoid.

The creatures moved in, and me and Matt quickly brought reign of metal into them. But it didn't seem to stop them. The two bones of the outer piece of the head spread out, and then it spit out a green spine at a marine. It broke right through the visor. The marine dropped his rifle, which clanked on the ground, and the spike was sticking right out of his forehead through the hole in the visor. I watched the marine fall backwards and land with a sickening thud... A one hit kill

            Now I really wished I had some of that battle armor on. I fired at a nearby hydralisk, the digital number indicating the bullets going down rapidly. I screamed as I fired, and then it finally screeched and turned into a heap of blood, a thump being heard from the bloody mess.

            "These things are impossible!" Matt shouted, his gauss rifle still firing like there was no tomorrow.

            "Their armor is much harder then those little ones!" I shouted back, another one dropped dead from my metal spikes.

            A marine by me was hit by the spines, it punctured holes in his armor and he screamed, and then just dropped dead from the ground, a blood puddle formed under him.

            When the battle finally subsided, 9 out of 20 men have died from the initial attack by the creatures. I sighed and looked at the digital number on the side of my rifle.

            "547" I said softly to myself. Matt was doing the same thing.

            "698" He said.

            "Let's move out" said the pointy headed general.

            Some men took out their stim packs and brought it to either their necks or their wrists, and it sizzled and they sighed out a sigh of relief. I guess that is what they use to calm themselves down. The men began to walk behind their leader; their feet (covered with high quality battle armor) clanked on the marble floor below us.

            "Did you hear about the Korhal attack on the Confederate Station on Tarsonis?"  Asked one of the marines, to his fellow comrade.

            "No, but how far did those outlaw bastards get?" the other one replied with a laugh. Matt and I just listened.

            "Not far, their forces are pretty weak. They don't have highly trained men, and Acturus Mengsk doesn't have very good war tactics."

            "Ha, those men will be wiped out by us before they even know what hit them, boy"

"Who are the 'Korhal'?" I asked Matt, my head turned so my face was looking towards him, but still walking, the rifle in my hands.

            "All I heard about them is they are an outlaw group that opposes the Confederate ways of dealing things. They claim they know more things then the confeds do, and they tried to prosecute things against us in court, but they never had any proof. I personally think they are just trying to screw over this way of life and suit it up to their own tastes."

            "So you're basically saying, their bunch of moronic assholes."

            "Pretty Much."

            "Thought so, all fighting corps units are."

            Our conversation stopped there. The marines' boots kept clanking against the floor. It's funny how these marines can carry on a normal conversation in a time like this. It must be their neural implants that have been implanted in their heads so that way they have to follow orders. In other words, marines are some pretty tough men.

             The general brought us into an open room, and we all stopped dead in our tracks. The guns in the marines' hands clicked and they all held them up, and looked around. I did the same; this room looked a little dangerous.

            In the little dim lights that the cracks made through the ceiling, I could see that blood covered the walls and the floor, and dead air force trainees and the confederate marines lied all over the place, gauss rifles thrown about the room, dead creatures lying everywhere. The room was a big one, and a fan was blowing downwards upon us, making a "Whoosh" sound with each blade that came by.

            "This looks bad, boys" General Duke said solemnly.

            I picked up a clip from on the ground, it was a full cartridge. I slipped it into the back pocket of my jeans. I know that will come in handy later. I watched Matt do the same.         

"Be ready for anything, man" Matt said, his rifle pointing in front of him as he looked from side to side.

            The gun clicked in my hands, and I did the same. The group went forward very slowly, looking everywhere, ready for anything. We only had a group of about 11 men. The boots clanked under the metallic floor, the marines' face actually showed a bit of fear for once.

            Before we know what hit us, the floor under us began to crack, and all of us looked down.

            "What the hell…" General Duke said.

            "Everybody, get back!" Matt shouted, and he jumped back.

            I, General Duke, and three other marines listened to Matt. We were lucky, as for the others, it was a kind of gruesome death.  The floor cracked under them, and zergling and lower pitched screeches were heard below. Marines screamed and tried to scramble up the broken pieces of the ground. But it was too late. One Marine fired downwards, and then he disappeared into the darkness. One by one, the marines disappeared below. Shots were heard, but the slashes and marine screams.

            "Damn monsters!" the last marine said, falling into the darkness with a thud. We all listened, then a scream pierced the air, then all went silent.

            "Holy Shit..." the general said, a bit of fear in his voice. "These creatures are smarter then we thought."

            "What do you mean by 'we thought'?" I said angrily, turned to Duke.

            "None of your business, civilian." Duke said, looking over at me, shooting back a dirty look at me.

            "Well, this is my homeland, and I think I should know" I said. "I can blow you to hell" and with that I raised my rifle and aimed it at Duke.

"Hey, Justin, calm down man." said Matt. He had to obey the confeds, Duke was a superior officer.

"I don't think you want to raise that rifle at me, boy" the general replied, and then the three Marines all rose their rifles at us.

 Once again, the general had me in his grasp, I dropped my rifle and held it at my side, and then Duke nodded his head.

"Shall we continue, boys?"

Before we can all move though, a few zerglings jumped up onto the edge, and all of us turned to our left and then raised our rifles at them. They screeched and clawed the ground, looking at us with their red eyes. We all then opened fired, and then they all gave out their last cry as blood shot out from their bodies and then they flew back down to their hole. Their grave.

"I hate them things." Matt said, then lowering his rifle again.

"Better get used to them." I said glumly. My gun beeped, saying I was out of ammo. I held the trigger and the side panel came out. It dumped the old cartridge by itself. I took the new one from my back pocket and slipped it into the panel. I pushed it back in and it gave another "beep" and the light turned to green and said "1,500"

We all then walked around the hole, keeping our eyes peeled. When we got to the other side, we began to search for any survivors. But all was hopeless, there were none. All we ran into was more creatures and dead bodies, and rooms covered in blood. We were all too late.

"Ok, let's pack up, there is nothing left here, men." Duke finally said, giving up the search.

I didn't mind, we already searched the whole perimeter, besides, my brother is at my house, me and Matt have to get back to him and hopefully, he will be alright.

"We are lucky, man…" Matt said, looking at the ground some.

"Hey man, we did all we could do." I said, trying to cheer up my friend.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go get your brother."

We followed Duke outside, where we even found more bodies and blood. Nothing was left though, dangerous anyway. Flipped over cars, buildings either in rubbles or on fire, windows broken, all destruction and havoc. But before all was over, there was one last thing that was in our way.

A roar shook the whole ground, and I my knees bent as I kept my ground.

"What the hell is that?" I shouted nervously.

All our rifles clicked in our hands as we raised them up, looking around. Down the street, a huge creature came barreling down the street. It was about 30 feet tall, having blades about 20 feet long, a huge shell on its back, and a sort of tiny head right above its claws. It had four legs, and ran pretty damn fast for a giant. It spotted us, and then whacked a car to the side with its humongous claws.

 "T-T-That's one big…guy…" matt said.

"Open fire, men!" Duke shouted. All the marines fired as the creature came barreling down the road after us.

Matt and I also fired, I tried to aim at its head, and even though I thought I hit it (because there was blood coming out of its head) it didn't seem to stop this monstrous tank. It ran up to one of the marines, Duke and the other jumped back and kept firing. The marine stopped firing and stuttered a scream.

"Uh…uh…..AHH!!" he screamed, and before he could turn and run, the creature's blades went into the air.

It then went across the marine, right in the waist. The marine dropped his rifle, and then the top half of him slid off, and blood spurted out of the lower half, which was still standing, but then fell to the ground.

"God Da---"said another marine.

But before he could finish his sentence, the creature turned and hit him with its claws, and the marine flew into the building across the street. The marine hit the brick wall with a sickening splat. You know he dead.

"Barry!" the last marine screamed. 

Duke walked back, while we all fired. He was to my right now, and the last marine's gun clicked. He was out of bullets. The marine then took his rifle and chucked it at the monster, only hitting it in the leg. The monster then turned around and stepped on the marine, and then lifted up its foot and then stomped over to us. I looked over at the bloody mess; it was a puddle of blood with a pile of human skin and mush. The armor was in pieces around it.

Duke's gun clicked, and he looked down, then he cussed.

"I'm out." He said.

My gun then clicked in my hands, and then I stood there, lowering my rifle and looking up at the behemoth.

"Same here…"

After a few more shots, Matt's rifle clicked.

"Damn…"

We all started to step back away from the creature, looking up at its head. It seemed to laugh as it approached us. Then, a radio went off on Duke's waist.

"General, all siege tanks are in place, waiting for permission to fire."

Duke must have called some reinforcements while the attack was going on. A couple of siege tanks then creaked on some buildings around us, going into siege mode. Duke pulled out his radio and then shouted into it.

"Fire damn it, fire!"

Suddenly, a wave of explosions went off around the creature, a few hitting it. The creature screeched a low pitch screech in pain, as blood poured out of its new holes. The explosions knocked all three of us off our feet. I sprawled out on my back, my elbows in the dirt, my rifle lying a bit to my side, looking up at the creature, my head raised.

More waves of shells went off into the creature; it looked around helplessly, not knowing where it was coming from. Finally, it fell to its side, it looked at us with eyes of pain, and then the eyelids went down. It died there. Matt gave off a sigh of relief, and the back of my head hit the dirt.

General Duke stood up. He then picked up his talkie and then talked to it.

"Send me a drop ship and pick me up, the Confeds need to hear about this one" he said.

"Whoa, you can't just leave without giving me answers!" I shouted, standing up. Matt just lied there, looking up at the sky.

"Listen, Mr. Schilling, I got something to do, and no punk ass civi is gonna stop me, you hear?"

I stood silent, as a drop ship came down and then general turned his back to me, muttering something, then he walked to the drop ship, and then I watched the drop ship take off.

"God that was a close one…" Matt said, not picking up his rifle while he stood up.

I had mine in my hands. I didn't want to go anywhere without it now. Even though Duke said the threat has been cleared, I can't just drop my guard. Now comes the harder task.

"Let's get to my house and retrieve my brother" I said, then beginning to walk down the street to get to my house.

"If he's still alive" Matt said, following behind.

People came walking out of buildings as we passed, crying or shaking their heads over the ones that have died. People asked in confusion, wondering what these creatures were that attacked. All I knew was three things, the little ones are zerglings, there are things that spit spines, and then there are these huge 30 foot monsters with gargantuan claws. Other then that, I was confused myself.

We finally reached our house, and we saw my brother out on the front porch, his head down, his canister rifle having the butt on the step, the barrel pointing in the air. He was holding it in his right hand.

"Hey Marc!" I yelled, walking up to him.

"Hey Justin, I'm glad your still alive." Marc said, looking up with a smile.

"So, you get attacked too?" Matt asked.

"Yep, these little creatures. Only about 5 or 6 though, not too many."

"Must be zerglings." I said looking around. Ambulances rushed to the scene, going to help the wounded.

"You know what they are called?" Marc said with curiosity in his voice.

"It's the only thing I know the name of, and it's not the only thing running around. There are acid spitter things, and then there are these huge creatures. Duke's squad was obliterated, we barely survived."

"This all happened at your Confederate academy?" Marc turned to Matt.

"Yep, the whole place was infested with the bastards. Everybody died in there except me." Matt replied.

"Lucky"

"Yep, I know."

"Well, Matt, me and Marc have some…cleaning to do….so we will talk to you tomorrow man. And be careful sarge" I said jokingly.

"I will man, see ya private." And with that Matt marched off.

"Well, shall we start boarding up and stuff?" I said to Marc.

Marc stood up and then gave me a grin.

"Before we do that, I am going to upgrade your rifle there, give you better bullets and accuracy."

"Sounds cool."

Marc and I then walked up the steps of the porch, and then went inside, preparing, in case of another attack.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     


	4. Ashley

Chapter 3         Ashley

"Ashley was my girlfriend at the time I was on planet Mar-Sara. We were a great couple; we cared for each other a lot. We were going out for about a year and a half that night of the attack, when she came by to visit. Her beautiful blonde hair and crystal clear blue eyes…I remember it like yesterday..."-Stryke

            I walked down the corridor of the house, looking around slowly. I was just about to open the door, when a zergling cry suddenly stopped me. It came from behind the door. I grabbed the knife that was left on the desk besides me, my shaking hand reaching for the door. I grabbed the knob and twisting it, standing with the knife in my hand. The zergling stood there, staring back at me. Its red eyes glared at me. I gasped when it suddenly jumped and knocked me off my feet, the knife flying out of my hand. I hit the ground with a loud thud; my instincts made me sit up quickly to reach for the knife. The zergling leaped at me, its claws thrashing at the air. The claw sliced the air, hitting my face.          

I sat up quickly with a scream, sweat beading down my face, even though I felt the air conditioning breeze hitting my face. The clatter of the hammer rang in my ears. Marc was working on the house, boarding it up, getting it ready for the next Zerg attack, if it happens. A sigh escaped my lips as I looked around slowly. We got most of the work done, and I remember sitting down on the couch to take a break. I must have dozed off.

I stared at the ground, the dream repeating in my head. I saw a C-10 canister rifle shell on the ground. Marc must have been attacked, and he used his gun to kill the creatures. Blood stains stained the carpet that was there. The blood was a blackish color; it had to be those creatures' blood.

"You awake yet there, bro?" my brother voice rang in my head from across the room. I didn't answer though, I was still in thought.

"You were supposed to go out on a date with Ashley tonight, man." Marc said again. "I am guessing that it is canceled due to the attack?"

I suddenly remembered about the date. I stood up and grabbed my jacket, looking back at Marc.

"You are going to be alright by yourself?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, man. I got my gun here." He said with a smile. "Have fun man"

I rushed out the door, disappearing into the darkness. The wind howled, the stars shone brightly, lighting the path for me. I walked with my hands in my pockets, looking down at the dark brown dirt under me. I was thinking about what had happened earlier.

_"These things are impossible!" Matt shouted._

_"Their armor is much harder then those of the little ones!" I shouted back, continuing to fire my rifle._

            My actions today weren't me. It was my instinct of survival. Yelling at Duke wasn't me either; I usually would follow orders of a military officer. But there was something about him that made me do it. I had a feeling that he knew something that all of us didn't.

            The dust around me kicked up. I felt a chill go up my spine. It is kind of chilly out tonight. Ashley's house isn't that much farther down. I put my head back down, but then bumped into someone. I stumbled back some, but caught myself.

            "You alright there, son?" the person said.

            "Yeah, I'm fine" I said, looking up.

            The man was a big one, a Vulture hover cycle was behind him. Now I know who it is. It's Jim Raynor, the marshal of Mar Sara.

            "Oh, hey Jim" I said.

            "Is that you, Justin?" Jim asked.

            "Yes, it is"

            "What are you doing out so late, man?" asked the marshal

            "Just walking to my girlfriend's house." I replied, looking up at him.

            "Oh, alright. Well I am just patrolling around these here streets, due to that attack. I don't even know what those lil' fuckers were, but to be on the safe side, I am staying up late to make sure nothing like that happens again."

            "Hey, you got an estimate of how many people died from the attack?" I asked, my brown hair blowing in the wind, my leather jacket swaying slightly.

            "About 438 people" said the marshal, cracking his knuckles.

            "Holy shit…" 

            "Yeah, that's a lot of people, and if you don't mind, Justin, I am going back to duty." 

            I watched the marshal give me a wave, turn around, and walk to his vulture. When he turned it on, it whined loudly, and began to float in the air. It floated up about 3 feet off the ground; the marshal's feet no longer touched the ground. Then he sped off, the thrusters burning on the back of the bike.

            I began to walk towards the house again, looking up at the sky. Something unusual was up there, and I could feel it. I saw some unusual bright lights up in the far east of the sky. I shrugged it off. It is probably just the confederacy wraiths and battle cruisers in orbit.

            I saw Ashley's house in the distance, and I checked my jean pockets to see how much money I have. I pulled out the crumpled bills, examining them closely, just barely able to see the numbers. The result was 23 dollars. Just enough for a small drink, popcorn, and two tickets at the movies. If there was any movie building left.

            I jumped up onto the porch, clearing the three steps. The lights were lit, shining dimly through the windows. I guess she is still up, doing something. She is going to be a bit mad; I am about 45 minutes late. I pressed the doorbell, and the little song played.

             The door creaked open, the light shined into my eyes. I blinked a couple of times, looking at the figure. It was her dad.

            Ashley is about 19 years old, and still lives with her parents. She says it is easier to go to college this way. She wants to be a doctor when she grows up. The only thing I am afraid of is she might become a medic, a confederate medic.

            "Come in, Justin" her father said giving me that evil glare.

            I stepped my way inside the house, my sneakers tracking in dirt, but I didn't know. Her father didn't really like me too much. He probably thinks I am banging his daughter. Well, maybe I did once. But he doesn't know that.

            I sat down at the single seater couch, and then her father sat down in front of me.

            "So Justin, where do you work?" he asked me, his eyes fixed onto mine.

            "I work at Happy Burger" I said. I felt kind of embarrassed. "I cook"

            "Oh, I see" said her father, disappointment sounding in his voice.

            "I'm ready" Ashley said, walking down the stairs.

            Ashley was a cute girl. She had a slender body, with long blonde hair going down to her shoulder blades. Her eyes were a crystal clear blue color. Her fingernails were colored red. She was wearing a white tank top, with female looking blue jeans. She was also wearing white and pink sneakers.

            She came barreling down the stairs. A smile was pasted on her face. She always smiled. I stood up from my chair and then began to walk for the door, she followed behind.

            "Be back no later then 1:00, got that?" her father said.

            "Sure Dad" Ashley replied. Then the door closed behind her, and the light faded behind me.

            I hopped down the stairs, Ashley jumping down with me, walking by my side.

            "Why did you arrive so late?" she asked, she sounded a bit mad. I knew she would be a little angry.

            "Sorry, I was kind of drifted off into some business." I said glumly, not even looking at her.

            "You had to work today? It's Saturday. You are usually off on Saturdays." She demanded. She wanted the truth, but I couldn't let her know the truth.

            "Marly got sick today, so I needed to cover for him" I lied.

            "Oh, ok. So where are we going anyway?" she said. She already lightened up. She is normally never mad for long.

            "Uh, well, I guess the movies."

            "Sounds fun" she said with a laugh.

            Her laugh trailed off into the wind. All the rest was silence. She grasped my hand with hers, holding it close by her side. She always loved holding my hand. I smiled when she did, the wind blowing her blonde hair across the back of her head.

            We walked down the streets of the destructed town. Then she finally figured out what had happened. Fire fighters were still working on putting out the fire. Cars were flipped over, the glass shattered. Buildings were either on fire, or turned into a pile of rubble. Dead bodies lied everywhere. The red blood stained the streets, which was also layered with the blackish blood of the Zerg. 

            Man, I was so stupid! I forgot, due to the attack, the movies wouldn't be open. Now she would be demanding the truth, and what had happened. I don't want to tell her though; I don't want to scare her.

            "Justin, what happened here?" she asked, her voice trembling.

            "Well….there was an attack on the city….by the zer—creatures." I replied glumly, trying to keep her calm.

            A marine stood in the middle of the street, his Impaler Gauss Rifle in his hands. The huge combat armor's gloves clasped the rifle tightly. He held the rifle with one hand on the barrel, and then the other one on the handle. His fingers caressed the trigger, but care not to press it. He spotted us, and then jogged over.

            "Sorry sir, ma'm, but you will have to go home. The streets are off limits for now." His voice was deep and scratchy.

            I held onto Ashley's hand as I then turned around and began to walk her away from the streets of the half destroyed city. I could feel her hand get all sweaty, a sign of fear. Her body shook also, and I just stood by her, leading her somewhere else. Somewhere far away from the city. Those images must have gotten her a bit scared.

            She finally stopped, and pulled her hand away from mine. She stopped short, an angry, yet scared look spread upon her face.

            "Justin, what is going on?" she demanded. Her voice was shrill.

            "I told you before. It was those creatures that were on TV. Well they kind of attacked the city. And there is more then just one type of breed; there are bigger ones, and even huge ones. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I just didn't want to scare you. It was supposed to be a fun date out, but apparently, the city is off limits."

            "Justin, I just want to go home. I want to go home, and go to sleep. And think about this. This is all too much. I am really scared Justin, really scared. How could you not tell me about this?"

            "I just didn't want to scare you. That was all my intentions were."

            Ashley looked at me. Even through the darkness, the moonlight showed the tears building up in my eyes.

            "You were attacked, weren't you? You lied to me. You didn't go to work!" She was starting to yell now. 

The houses around us began to light up. The light shined on us, I can see her quite clearly now. Her muscles were tense. She was shaking like a baby's rattle. I tried to calm her down. But she wouldn't listen.

"You want to know how I could tell you were attacked?" she said, then hitting the shoulder that I had the cut on.

I looked down at where she hit. There was a light red blood spot there, where the cut lied. I was still wearing that white shirt, so it was clear as daylight to tell I was bleeding. She must have seen it when my jacket was blowing in the wind, revealing it. The flash back of when it happened ran before my eyes.

_ A zergling attacked from the side, as I then jumped back and its claws lightly scratched my shoulder. Blood lightly dripped out from the new hole of my shirt._

"I'm sorry, Ashley. I just didn't want to scare you." I said.

The flashback kept going on and on through my head. The thought of the zerglings killing the marines, those spine spitting things piercing through marines, made me have a nauseating feeling. I just wanted to get on my hands and knees and throw up my dinner.

"You want me to walk you home?"

"No, Justin, I am going home alone."

"But-"but before I could finish, I watched her disappear into the darkness. I watched her figure run and run, until I couldn't see that white figure run anymore.

I walked home; I wasn't very far away from my house. It took about 20 minutes from my old position to get there. When I finally made it, I saw that Marc had finally finished what I asked him to do.

The TV's light was flashing through the window, or what was not covered by the boards. I could hear Marc bursting out in laughter. He must be watching some cartoons or something. I opened the door and entered. I looked to see Marc was watching cartoons.

"Hey bro" Marc said.

I was just about to answer hey, but he didn't even wait for me to answer.

"Nothing is up, how about you?" He replied, still staring at the TV.

            "How did you know what I was go-"I started, but he interrupted me.

            "What? Oh, I just kind of knew." He laughed nervously, looking up at me. "Everyone always says 'What's up' you know?"

            "Yeah, sure, whatever. I am going to go to bed now."

            "Good night, bro"

            I made my way up the stairs. It was such a long day. To think about it, I could have been dead. But, my instinct helped me live. If it weren't for that, and Matt, and even Duke, I would have been dead.

            But here I am, alive. Out of so many people that have died today, I am one of the survivors. But what I didn't know was I would be surviving through a lot more hell. And worst then this day I have had.


End file.
